How To: Build A Personal Website In 7 Steps

Step 6: Get People To Your Site

The "build it and they will come" adage doesn't work in the offline world; nor will it work in the online world. Once your site is up, you will need to promote it. There are millions of websites out there vying for the same eyeballs.

The key is to be in as many places as possible. This increases the chances of your website being exposed. So take the time to submit your site to the leading search engines, and exchange links with websites that offer complementary information, products, or services whenever possible. Investing in a Yahoo! listing is well worth the price.

Creating a large website is not an overnight process, so make sure you have enough compelling content on your website to keep whatever visitors you attract coming back. Eventually you'll have a steady base audience, consisting of regular users and newcomers.

Step 7: Track Your Traffic & Fine-Tune

The Internet allows anyone with a website to have access to loads of statistics. Use that information wisely; analyze it in order to see patterns and to know which pages are being viewed more than others. Most hosting companies offer software to track unique visitors (one computer equals one "unique visitor"), average time per visitor, page views per visitor, etc. If they don't, you can monitor traffic on your website through a webpage counter or tracker. Hitbox.com offers this for free.

Remember, the Internet is ever evolving. Make sure you are constantly making changes and improving your website. Pay attention to user feedback, and don't be afraid to try new things until you get the right formula. Rome wasn't built in a day, nor will your success story.

and you're ready

Now that you know what it takes to get your own website started, I recommend you get up, go for a walk, think about what you need to get started, come back to your computer and get started.

Your greatest enemy is time. The longer each step takes, the more reluctant you might be to continue. Steps 1 to 3 can easily be done in one day, Step 4 will take at least three days, Step 5 will take five days, Step 6 another two days, and Step 7 is an ongoing process.

Think about it: you can be up and running in two weeks, and you thought you had to go to college for four years. What are you waiting for? Go for that walk. Good luck.